So, You Like Cats Too?
by Blackheart214
Summary: Jason Midwood, a born and raised American, finds himself faced with a new life, school, and a whole new set of problems in Japan. How can he can live in a country so foreign to him? Perhaps a certain group of very unique girls can help him? SakakixOC
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note****: This is my first attempt at an Azumanga Daioh fanfiction. Now, I'll get the obvious out of the way: this is not a yuri fic between two of the many girls in this story. I have nothing against yuri, or yaoi, for that matter; I just don't believe I'm capable of writing it in a tasteful manner. Instead this will be a romance between a male OC and Sakaki. And I know how much you all hate Stu's and I can promise you right now, this is OC will be far from a Stu.**

**Now, I haven't watched the show in a while; I never even finished it. I can't guarantee that this will be as humorous as the show was since my stories stem more towards dramas and action, but I'll try my best to make you laugh.**

**DISCLAIMER~ I DO NOT OWN AZUMNAGA DAIOH IN ANYWAY AND IF I DID THE SHOW WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH LONGER. ONLY MY OC, JASON MIDWOOD, BELONGS TO ME.**

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"This place is beautiful! What do you think, Jason?" Mrs. Midwood asked her son.

Jason only scowled through the window at the passing scenery from his spot in the back seat of the car.

"Jason… you haven't said a word since we got off the plane," Mrs. Midwood asked as she looked at her son through the rearview mirror. "Isn't there anything you have to say about Japan at all?"

"Let him be, Jenna," Mr. Midwood said as he drove the car. "When he wants to talk, he'll talk."

Jenna let out a sigh of defeat. It didn't help that her son was usually quiet to begin with, now he was just being dead silent. She had hoped he would be at least somewhat thrilled at the prospect of living in a new place, but it seemed he wasn't the least bit interested.

Jason wasn't sure if he could be anymore irate. Here he was in a strange place, thousands of miles away from home, forced to attend a new school and adapt to a strange culture. All he could feel was anger, but he wasn't sure whether to direct it at his parents, his father, James', job in the Navy, or Japan itself.

From his side he heard a "meow". He looked away from the window and down at the kennel that sat beside him. Inside was a golden brown domestic shorthaired cat with a white fur on his underside and dull green eyes. His features softened as he reached a finger through the bars on the kennel door and gently scratched the cat's head. It gave a content purr in response. At least there was one thing he knew not to be angry at.

Jason had owned his cat, Binx, for a little over three years after he had followed him home from school one day. The two were inseparable ever since. Jason was thankful that Binx was with him in this troubling time. The cat's feline antics had always been a mood lifter and now that he was several thousand miles from all his friends, Binx was, without a doubt, the only solace Jason had regarding his move to Japan.

After another half hour of driving, they finally pulled up to a house.

"Here we are," James said as he parked the car.

"Oh my, it's even lovelier than what we saw in the picture back home," Jenna exclaimed in awe.

Jason looked out the window at the house. He didn't share his mother's enthusiasm. The house looked strange to him. The style of the house was much different from his old one back in America. He got out of the car and grabbed Binx's kennel before closing the door. The moving van came to stop behind the car and the process of moving the Midwood family's possessions into the house began.

"What do you think, Jason?" Jenna asked, bringing her son out of his thoughts.

Jason looked at his mother and then back at the house. With a shrug of his shoulders he muttered, "It's fine, I guess."

His mother sighed and made her way to the house with Jason slowly following behind. Inside the house was empty, but it was certainly spacious, more than enough room for a family of three and a cat. After Jason passed through the door frame, he was about to walk up the only step that led to the hallway when his mother stopped him.

"Jason, over here you have to leave your shoes by the door," she reminded him.

Jason looked at with a raised brow and then looked down at the floor where both his parents' shoes lay at the base of the step. Jason rolled his eyes and kicked off his shoes. Oh yes, Japanese customs were going to take a lot of time to get used to.

It took about two hours to unload the contents of the moving van into the house and a few hours more to get the furniture set up. By the end of the day, there were still several unpacked boxes left, but Jason's parents informed him that they would take care of the rest while he was at school tomorrow.

That thought hung over Jason's head as he retired to his room for the rest of the day.

The idea of attending a Japanese school was definitely unnerving. All he knew about it was what he gathered from movies or the anime he watched once or twice. He knew that students had to wear uniforms, which was something he would definitely he would not enjoy in the least. There was also the idea of communicating with the students. He knew enough Japanese to be sure, at his mother's insistence, but he was still learning. He used the wrong kind of words it could end badly for him, but that was if he even decided to talk to the students at all. No, he did not look forward to any of it at all.

With a sigh he sat down on his new Japanese made bed and released Binx from his kennel. The cat eagerly walked out of the confining box and began observing his new environment. He didn't recognize the bed he was sitting on and didn't see the comfy computer chair or windowsill he used to lay on. He looked up at his master with confused gaze as if saying "this isn't home".

"I know," Jason said has pet Binx's head. "I don't like here either."

Binx leaned into Jason's hand and purred.

"Maybe we could run back to the airport and go back home. Of course, you'd have to go back in the kennel," he joked.

Binx stopped purring and glared at him.

"Geez, no sense of humor, huh?" Jason said with a dry laugh.

Jason stopped petting Binx for a second and looked around his bare room some more. He sighed and stared at the floor in silent gloom.

"I don't know, Binx…" he said dejectedly. "I don't know what to do now. I wanna go back home."

He looked down at his pet for some kind of answer that the animal most likely didn't have only to find that he had already fallen asleep, having found a comfortable spot on the bed.

"Good talk, Binx. You're a big help," Jason said wry smile as he fell back on the bed.

Life as he knew it was definitely over.

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**Short, I know, but I was never very good with introductions. Next chapter should be longer since Jason will be going to is first day of school and will be meeting some of the Azumanga girls.**

**R&R, if you'd be so kind.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note****~ Well here we are for chapter two. I know the first chapter seemed very serious, but it was only the first chapter. This story will take on a much lighter tone as it progresses, I promise.**

**Sorry that this took so long, my old laptop up and died and left me unable to access my files and I had to go back and watch the show again, because it's been a few years since I've seen it.**

**DISCLAIMER~ I have no claim over Azumanga Daioh whatsoever. I only own my OC, Jason Midwood.**

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When Jason awoke the next morning, he had hoped it was just an unpleasant dream. He had hoped he would wake up in his old familiar room back in America and not have to worry about Japan ever again. Unfortunately, it seemed fate liked to treat his life as a cruel joke because he found himself in his new room, in his new home, in Japan and not in America!

Binx was curled up beside him sleeping soundly. Jason was slightly envious of how his cat could become so comfortable in such short amount of time when it looked like it would take him much longer to adapt if at all.

He looked at the small clock on the nightstand beside his bed. His father had said that school started at 8:30 a.m., leaving him around an hour and a half to get ready for school. He had half a mind to fake sick and stay away from school for as long as possible, but both his parents were too smart for that. So instead, he reluctantly dragged himself out of bed.

The first thing he needed was to find a bathroom. He found it at the end of the hall and the first thought that entered his mind was: _'what?'_

The bathroom was made up of three different rooms. The one he walked into was pretty much just a sink and a mirror. On his left was a doorway that led to a room with a bathtub, another sink and a shower head that was, strangely enough, on the wall opposite of the tub. The room on his right was a tiny room that contained the strangest looking toilet he had ever seen. It looked more like a master chair with buttons that super villains used on those Saturday morning cartoons he watched when he was a kid.

He was almost afraid to use the toilet but his bladder told him to suck it up and do it. When he finished his business he looked for and a lever that would flush the thing. Once he found it, he washed his hands in the sink in the first room he entered and then headed for the shower room. When he saw the drain in the middle of the floor, Jason realized that it was like the locker room showers he had at his old school. He stripped himself of his night clothes and turned on the water.

As he cleaned himself up for the day ahead, he couldn't help, but think about what school would be like. His father had told him the basics like the forty minute lunch times and the schedule, but he was more concerned about the students and teachers. Back home he had no trouble making friends and he did good enough in school for his teachers to like him, but he had no idea about whether or not that would change in Japan. He didn't know what was the right thing or the wrong thing to say to people or what it took to make other kids like you. He supposed the best thing he could do would be to keep to himself and try not to cause problems.

"Jason, are you in there?" he heard his mother ask from outside the bathroom.

"Yeah, mom," he answered as he turned the shower off.

"Good. I got your school uniform ready for you; it's hanging up on your door," she announced before leaving.

"School uniform?" Jason asked out loud with a grimace.

He quickly wrapped a towel around his waist and hurried towards his room, hoping he hear his mother wrong.

Unfortunately, his string of bad fortune continued. Hanging from the door inside his room was a uniform consisting of a black button-up jacket with a white button-up dress shirt, a pair of pressed black khakis, and a pair of brown loafers sitting off to the side of the door.

"You have got to be friggen' kidding me," Jason deadpanned as he looked at uniform. Reluctantly and irately, he threw on the offending set of clothes.

He returned to the bathroom to see how he looked in the mirror, hoping it wasn't as bad as he thought. The uniform wasn't as bad as some of the school uniforms in America. He figured it could've been much worse. With a sigh of, he grabbed the bottle of hair gel that sat on the sink and spiked his short black hair back.

"Oh don't you look handsome!" came the excited voice of his mother from outside the room.

"It's alright I guess," Jason admitted with a sigh.

"All that's left is this. It's for carrying all of your school supplies," his mother said handing him a brown leather briefcase. "Breakfast is waiting for you downstairs," she added as she left her son staring dumbfounded at the new accessory.

"Why?" Jason asked staring up into space. "Do you hate me?"

When he received no response-not that he expected one anyway- he dragged his feet down the stairs to the kitchen for breakfast.

In the kitchen, he found his mother working over the stove preparing seconds for anyone that wanted them. His father was reading the newspaper, as he did every morning while sipping coffee.

"Morning, boy," his father greeted.

"Morning, Dad," Jason muttered as he sat down at the table. His mother placed a plate of stacked waffles with just the right amount of syrup and a thin cut piece of butter on top- his favorite breakfast.

"So are you excited about your first day of school, Jason?" his mother asked as she joined him and her husband at the table.

"Not really, Mom," Jason responded as he cut into his waffle stack.

"Are you nervous?" his father asked.

"Maybe…" Jason muttered, not really paying attention as he took his first bite of his waffles.

Mr. and Mrs. Midwood looked at each other with concern. Honestly, they had expected this type of reaction from their son regarding the move. Still, that did not mean that they would know how to handle it. They were aware that their son harbored angry feelings towards them since they had basically jumped off a cliff and expected their son to follow without hesitation. His mother decided it was time to stop beating around the bush.

"Jason," she began, "your father and I know that this is very different for you, but-"

"I gotta get going," Jason said, putting his fork down. "I don't want to be late." He stood up and left the kitchen.

"You're not going to finish breakfast?" his mother asked with concern.

"I'm not really hungry," he responded from the hall.

"I put a map in your bag, it should you get to the school on time," his father called out before Jason left the house.

Both parents were at a loss. They both wanted to believe that it was only the first day and that, in time, Jason would get used to the idea of a life in Japan. The best thing they could do was wait and see.

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It took Jason nearly half an hour to get to his new school thanks to the map his father gave him. He stood outside the gate that led to the courtyard and thoughts of cutting his losses and running once again entered his mind. When he remembered that he had nowhere to go for six hours, he put those thoughts out of his mind. With a sigh he walked through the gates and into the courtyard.

Once he found himself amongst the thrall of students, he couldn't help but feel anxious. He kept glancing out the corners of his eyes to see if anyone was staring at him or noticed that he was a foreigner. Luckily, they all seemed too wrapped up in their own conversations to notice him.

He pulled out his schedule and looked for his assigned homeroom. He had been assigned to Class 3. He checked the time on his phone and saw that he had a little more than ten minutes left to get to class. After working up the courage to ask a staff member for directions, he found his classroom up past a few flights of stairs. The door was open and he decided to take a quick peek inside. He noticed that the teacher was a woman and the classroom had more students than his class back home.

After taking a deep breath, he knocked on the classroom door. All eyes were suddenly on him.

"Oh! Please come in!" the teacher said with a smile.

Jason nodded and walked in, quickly looking the room over for the most unnoticeable seat in the room. Before he could make his way to the desk in the back row closest to the window, the teacher spoke again.

"Class we have a new student joining us today," she began. "This is Jason Midwood, from America!" she said as if it were so terribly exciting. She then switched to English. "Can you speak Japanese?" she asked, rather loudly and slowly causing Jason's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance.

"Yes, I can speak Japanese," he responded in said language.

"Good! I'm your homeroom teacher Miss Yukari," she stated proudly. "If you have any questions just ask me. Now why don't you write your name for the class on the board?"

Jason shrugged and turned around to pick a piece of chalk up from the board and wrote the Japanese translation for his name as best he could.

"Very good, now why don't you tell the class a little about yourself?"

Jason was liking this place less and less with every passing second. He didn't like being put on the spot, especially in front of total strangers. Every student in the room had their eyes on him and it made his heart race.

"My name is Jason Midwood," he began. "I'm from Boston, Massachusetts. I moved here because my father is in the military and was stationed here."

Deeming that to be enough, Miss Yukari allowed Jason to find a desk for himself. He hurried to the back of the room, making eye contact with no one and sat down at the available desk.

For the rest of the day, Jason did his best to not draw any attention to himself whatsoever. He spoke to no one and no one spoke to him aside from one or two his teachers. During class he mostly spent his time looking out the window and putting very little effort into his school work. During lunch, he stuck to the corner of the room- he was surprised to find that lunch period took place in the classroom- and ate the food his mother packed for him in silence.

Throughout the day, Jason fell deeper into misery as it all started to slowly sink in. No matter how much he wished otherwise, this was his life now. Waking up in the morning in a Japanese bed, in a Japanese home, and going to a Japanese school.

When the final bell rang, he couldn't get out of the school fast enough. He wanted to get home and shut himself in his room for the rest of the day. He needed some time away from people and to sit down and think.

When he got home- it annoyed him to have to call it that- he didn't even give his mother a time to ask how school was, he just hurried to his room and tried his best not to slam his bedroom door behind him.

He tossed his briefcase carelessly to the side and threw his jacket off and to the floor. He was so frustrated that he forgot to take his shoes off when he first stepped into the house. He fell back onto his bed, waking and scaring Binx, who was sound asleep. Jason didn't seem to notice, however and just laid back on the bed and stared angrily at the ceiling.

After recovering from the initial shock of having his nap ending so abruptly, Binx sauntered over to his master's head and made himself comfortable by his left shoulder. Jason looked off to the side and smiled at the only friend he had left.

"Glad to see your getting comfy here," Jason mumbled. Binx only purred lightly in response.

Jason let a long sigh as he continued to stare at the ceiling. He suddenly felt really guilty for blowing off his mother when he walked in the door; she didn't deserve his anger.

"I know none of this is her fault or dad's even," Jason said. "Dad got his orders and he couldn't just leave us behind for so long. Maybe I'm just being selfish…"

Jason knew his behavior hadn't been fair to his parents. They had never done anything to hurt him and deep down he knew this was the same scenario. His parents probably had some big adjustments to make too; they were just making the best of it.

"Maybe I should try to put on a smile- for their sake at least," he said, turning his head to look at Binx who only stared at him silently.

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to contribute to the conversation," Jason said, slightly annoyed even though he knew it was less than likely his cat understood any part of what he just said.

Binx let out a meow and Jason groaned.

"That's what you always say!"

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**Short, I know, but there wasn't really much to say here. It's his first day in a foreign school and he's clearly not happy about it one bit. My intention was to make Jason seem as withdrawn as possible. Towards the end I had him realize that he can't blame his parents for his situation so he'll try looking at the glass half-full for a change. That doesn't mean he's going to up and be social the next day; he's still not prepared to fully interact with strangers just yet. My hope is to lighten his mood bit by bit with each chapter.**

**Well, I gotta lotta work to do: places to go, people to see, more fics to write, etc..**

**Drop a review if you like and I'll see y'all next time!  
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